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Moreno seen during a training camp practice session at Dove Valley in July. (BroncoTalk.net)

On Monday, the Denver Broncos held their first practice of the regular season. Following practice, several changes were made to the team’s depth chart.

On Sunday evening, fourth-year running back Knowshon Moreno was listed behind starter Willis McGahee, Lance Ball and rookie Ronnie Hillman on the depth chart. On Monday afternoon, Moreno had jumped Ball and Hillman and is now the No. 2 RB on the team (H/T to @MHR_Colby for the tip).

Moreno has been recovering from an ACL injury and rushed seven times for 49 yards in the team’s preseason finale last week. While he seemed to be on the roster bubble through summer practices, Moreno now has more job security as the team’s second option in the backfield.

There were no noticeable changes to the defensive lineup, but the Broncos did move around some of their returners and Joel Dreessen jumped Jacob Tamme as the No. 1 tight end. Yesterday, receivers Eric Decker and Matt Willis were listed as the respective punt and kick returners. Today, they were jumped by defensive backs Jim Leonhard and rookie Omar Bolden.

Leonhard will be returning punts and Bolden will be handling kickoff duties, which is not surprising — he took a kickoff to the house on Friday evening in Arizona. Behind Leonhard on the depth chart is Decker with receiver Andre Caldwell the No. 2 returner behind Omar.

Willis is no longer listed as a returner, as the Broncos will have him and Decker focusing on their wide receiver roles this season. It’s a smart move on Denver’s part, keeping quarterback Peyton Manning‘s targets fresh while putting the best returners on the field.

Week 1 depth chart adjustments are normal, but Moreno making such a big jump was surprising. Coach John Fox always makes depth chart watching fun, and we by now we really shouldn’t be surprised by anything.

Do you think Moreno deserves a No. 2 RB role? Dish out your thoughts in the comments below!

http://ehalseymiles.com E. Halsey Miles

I am not surprised by Moreno, after his preseason performance and the glowing reviews that Elway and Fox have been giving him.

Last year, before he tore his ACL, we started to see Knowshow show up. He only had a couple of games and it wasn’t enough to tell us for sure if he was going to show up and stick around or make it and bust again. But we saw that he had a fire in his belly and he was playing with some Want-To.

It’s clearly there again this offseason. He is more talented than Ball, I think, but injuries and either lack of maturity or simple over-estimation of his own abilities combined to make him nearly a bust. And I don’t think he’s ever going to be a #1 carry-the-load back.

But he’s shifty and he has good hands. He gets an audition here for a few games, to prove he deserves to be the change of pace back and it’s his last chance. Personally I’ve never been a fan of Moreno, but I’ve found myself rooting for him as an underdog lately and I really like our RB corps right now. I think they all earned it.

Maybe you shouldn’t of scrutinized his ability in the first place….. It was people like YOU that had him in tha gutter in the first place….. Broncos fans in general where completely bitter about him because he’s from the mcd era and nothing more. Than it got worst with the alcohol incident and broncos fans lettem have it at a personal level and completely forgot about how good of a person he was in the Denver community forgot darrent Williams family